A pedestrian crossing light in Berlin showing a green walking man in a hat, against a clear blue sky

Many years ago, when I was in Berlin, I took this photo. I liked the sprightly hatted man telling me it was safe to cross. A bit of research tells me that he is an Ampelmännchen.

I’m not the only one to have enjoyed the different “it’s safe to walk” lights. Yesterday’s edition of The Knowledge pointed me at Walking Men From Around the World.

Nine green crossing figures from Lyon, Corunna, Puno, Andorra, Barcelona, Cuenca, Buenos Aires, Hoi An and Cape Town, with Corunna's a woman in a skirt with a ponytail

I enjoyed seeing that Corunna uses a female figure to let people know it’s safe to cross. Perhaps the Moss and Fog article should be called “Walking Men (and Women) From Around the World”. That said, the original art installation behind the imagery in the article is called Walking Men Worldwide, so perhaps it’s OK?!

It did leave me wondering if there are other places that use women on their crossing lights, so I did a bit of an AI search. Turns out that there are, though they seem to be rare. Germany has the Ampelfrau, with her skirt and pigtails, and Amersfoort in the Netherlands has (or had) Sofie, with a ponytail. Pingtung in Taiwan even had a couple who became parents. I think it’s the variety I find charming.